What is crowdsourcing in simple words?

Every year, the volume of words in Russian increases by an average of one thousand new words. Recently, there has been a tendency to borrow foreign words, which often remain special, incomprehensible to most people. So, each of us at least once in my life heard the word "crowdsourcing". What is it in simple words - you will learn in this article. This word sounds from the TV screens, on the radio, of course, in the press. This word is pronounced by the country's top officials, teachers in schools, teachers in universities, which is why many young people probably know its meaning. So what is crowdsourcing?

Etymology of the word

Crowdsourcing is a word that comes from the English language. In the translation, the crowd means "crowd", sourcing - "resource search". Thus, this word refers to the process of collecting any resources by a large mass of people. By attracting the resources of the crowd, any social undertaking has a better chance of success. Proven fact: if a person feels personally involved in any common cause, he refers to the product of joint labor more responsibly, retains this pattern of behavior for other cases.

Promoting crowdsourcing

Active in Russia and so popular in abroad element of public culture, as crowdsourcing. Examples of Russian experience in using this technology can be found on the website of public-private partnership projects (PPPs). The site contains a database of projects that have been created, created at this point in time or are in development. Public-private partnership in the Russian Federation allows attracting private investments, implementing initiatives of citizens, entrepreneurs (individuals and legal entities). More than a thousand projects were implemented in 2016. So, a popular example of crowdsourcing is PPP in St. Petersburg. This is the construction of the Western high-speed diameter - a toll road designed to unload highways in the city.

Crowdsourcing: collective intelligence as a tool for business development

Crowdsourcing can be used not only in the sphere of private-state relations. Crowdsourcing technology is familiar to managers in the most diverse spheres of human life: in education, in science, and in public administration. Examples of crowdsourcing in the modern world can count millions, this practice is widely used abroad, and today it is becoming increasingly popular in Russia. Crowdsourcing is not always an attraction of material means. Due to crowdsourcing many Russian companies got a second life, for example, the collection of public opinion helped to choose logos for rebranding leading business organizations. Another popular case of technology such as crowdsourcing is Sberbank of Russia. This bank often attracts public opinion to discuss relevant solutions for the company. Sberbank accumulates ideas of its customers, offers public discussion of new projects. By the forces of the public mind, the company released a mobile application, which is used by more than half of all bank card and account holders.

Experience of the capital

What is crowdsourcing knows Moscow firsthand. Thanks to the Moscow crowdsourcing portal, by May 2017, 13 projects have been implemented. Among them: projects on ecology, improving the work of transport, the transformation of children's and adult polyclinics, as well as changes in the work of administrative Internet portals.

One of the projects deserving special attention was organized by Muscovites on the issue of keeping wild animals in the city: in apartment buildings, contact zoos and in public places. The tools of crowdsourcing allowed the Muscovites to come to important decisions. First, the term "wild animal" was defined, and secondly, the responsibilities for care, maintenance and behavior in the three listed locations for wildlife owners were named.

Crowdsourcing

What is crowdsourcing and how it happens, will help determine the following classification:

• Crowdsourcing design: allows you to select logos and design for products. Can be used in the sphere of public administration.
• Kraudfanding: a way of investing in attractive, but little-known projects. For example, with the help of crowdsfunding in Germany, not so long ago, was built a stunning library in the open air, combining the minimal design and comfort of the creative space.
• Microtasking is a tool for crowdsourcing, which allows you to charge an unlimited number of people with help in a particular case for free or for a fee. Very often this technology is called freelancing, but do not confuse these two concepts, since freelancing is usually one performer, and microtasking may have more than a thousand.

First experience: crowdsourcing and design

Design crowdsourcing in management was first applied in Australia in 1901, when the authorities of the newly created federation decided to create their own national symbol - the flag. On a competitive basis, the best of the proposals was selected. Foreign citizens also participated in the voting. Geographical isolation, as well as structural features of the Australian economy in the early twentieth century influenced the choice of the proposed sketches of the flag. The meritocracy and egalitarianism of that era also influenced the choice. That is why the flag of Australia was actively criticized already at the end of the twentieth century (due to stressing Australia's dependence on Britain). It is also known that crowdsourcing tools were used to create the design of the Sydney Opera.

The sphere of education

Crowdsourcing in education is used in educational institutions and people who are engaged in self-education. So, for example, those who want to learn a foreign language, use the crowdsourcing platform DuoLingo, on which you can practice pronunciation of English words, learn grammar rules in a game form. Such educational sites as Coursera or "Universarium" also allow you to study interesting programs (from cooking to microeconomics) while at home. Universities, companies and individuals place videos on these Internet sites and thereby contribute to improving the quality of education and the overall level of literacy of citizens.

Advantages of crowdsourcing

In detail, understanding what is crowdsourcing, you can distinguish both the advantages and disadvantages of this technology. First, crowdsourcing can reduce the company's internal costs. Often a fresh look from the outside allows you to see the benefits in small details. Secondly, absolutely brilliant ideas can be born on a voluntary basis, which can make life of a large number of people more comfortable. Crowdsourcing allows you to draw the attention of government agencies to significant issues in the lives of citizens. The more state initiatives, the more chances that they will be successfully improved as they are implemented.

Another advantage is the low cost of work. Many people are willing to work for free, creating something necessary. Work for the sake of an idea is the main principle of crowdsourcing.

Disadvantages of this method

The risk of running into scammers is, perhaps, the main disadvantage of crowdsourcing. However, it lurks only those who use untested platforms, invests in startups on little-known sites. The main advice for those who are going to invest in a good idea, can only be a warning about the choice of crowdsourcing platform.

Use popular sites with experience in implementing similar projects. If you are a performer in a crowdsourcing project, then do not expect a big reward. Very often, customers offer small amounts of payment or ask for free volunteer assistance. In conditions when a large number of people work together, it can be quite difficult to keep inside the organization any confidential information. It is impossible to ensure that all participants in the process do not disclose his ideas, important insider information. That's why most projects have open access documentation for users and all project statistics are available even to those who do not participate in it.

Crowdsourcing: Interesting Cases

One of the popular crowdsourcing actions in Russia is the process of selecting the symbols of the Winter Olympics in Sochi in 2014. Artists, designers and animators were offered several interesting images that were supposed to compete for the titles of the Olympic mascots. In the end, the three heroes won: Snow Leopard, Hare and White Bear.

Famous Russian platforms for searching sports coaches, tutors, music teachers and educators are another socially important project of crowdsourcing. Sometimes this technology arises completely spontaneously. So, users of "Yandex-cards" came up with an announcement of all car owners about the situation on the roads of the country.

Foreign experience

Not so long ago in the UK an interactive public platform was created that allowed users to immediately report acts of vandalism in the streets of the city, as well as report problems with local infrastructure and open sewer hatches.

"Wikipedia" is another Internet project that has changed this world for the better. Of course, this source of information is not as reliable as we would like, because any user can make their own edits.

Famous furniture company from the Netherlands IKEA offers an annual crowdsourcing project for children. Kids can come up with a unique design for a soft toy and the best designs will be realized in the form of real products from IKEA.

Non-profit crowdsourcing in the Russian Federation

One of the best examples of non-profit crowdsourcing in Russia is the Internet portal of people's expertise, where people can propose their own initiative to improve the quality of life in our country, as well as take part in surveys, vote for the initiative of other citizens. On the same portal there is a rating of "People's Experts". People with this rank earn the most votes for their proposed initiatives. These initiatives, in turn, are passed on to professionals in various industries, which leads the project into action.